From Coherence to Differentiation: Understanding (Changes In) the European Area for Higher Education and Research

It would be no exaggeration to say that the aim of a European research and higher education policy is the creation of a ‘European research area’ (ERA) or a ‘European area of higher education’ (EAHE). Although people in the field may be more affected by, and thus acquainted with, the process of European higher education reform known as ‘Bologna’, the aim that underpins this process is the construction of a common area for higher education. Particularly since the intergovernmental agreement in 1999, known as the Bologna declaration, and the European Commission's initiative in 2000 to make Europe the world's most competitive knowledge-based economy, known as the Lisbon Agenda, the formation of this area by 2010 has been high on the European agenda. There is a marked contrast, however, between the pervasiveness of this concept of a European area and its lack of conceptual clarity. What, then, do people mean when they refer to such a European area?

This chapter will argue, firstly, that one can discern at least three different ways in which the European area for research and higher education is understood and structured: while referring to the same area, people often mean different things by it. This chapter will also show who defends which space and how different groups wish to govern it. Although it will mainly focus on the Commission's discourse on universities, it will also take into account other voices.